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We tent camp, have for years.
Generally, we have the dome-style tents that we thread with the graphite rods that "pop" the tent into shape.
Well, my Mrs was wanting one of those that "sets itself up" and is more house-like.
She opted for this:
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/camp-va...prod5250206.ip
We took it on its first trip this weekend.
Sort of misleading - sure it sets up in 60 seconds, but there is still some finesse to do once the main structure is up.
I liked the added height since I am 6' 2".
Friday went well, but as we got closer to bedtime, we were left wondering about the front door.
If you click that link, you'll see that it has a built in porch (rain flap). Yet, the front doors to the tent are two mesh, unzip and enter deals.
Mkay, we really don't want everyone peeking in...so what, before we go to bed for the night does the company expect us to undo the rope tethers, pull the metal prop bars, and let the porch (rain flap) down? Ya know, it is doable, but a lot of work.
Not to mention, if you let the porch down (rain flap) you h ave to have already unzipped the two front mesh doors. Yup.
There are three zippers there - a vertical center one to separate the two doors. Then, along the bottom of each door, is a zipper.
Once you are inside the tent with those three zippers undone, you have to reach out, grab the underside of the porch (rain flap), locate its zipper and run it down the height of the tent - ON EACH SIDE.
A total of five zippers, two rope tethers, two metal support rods just to close your tent at night.
Umm...anyone see a problem with this?
Saturday came and my wife and I were jockeying the idea of returning the tent. She seemed to remember SAMs having a no-return policy on used tents, which irked me. $150 for a problem tent.
Well, saturday yielded us some light rain. just a misting in the afternoon as the larger storms forecasted for our area were miles south of us.
After dinner Saturday night, we rationed firewood to have a good long night of fire, smores', company and fun...
Cell coverage was mediocre in this area and data was almost non existent, but I was able to pull up radar once in a while.
I just happened to pull my phone out of my pocket (habit) as we loaded the fire pit up for round #1.
Oh crap. without warning (sky was already getting dark) a storm was moving in, and a big one.
Judging size and speed of the animation, we were minutes away from getting hit.
So everyone packs up chairs and food, we go and go thru the whole "porch - rain - flap" disassembly thing. However, since we were outside of the tent for this procedure, we just unzipped the three zippers to the doors, dropped the rain flap and just let it hang so we could make a dash for the tent when the rain started.
The rain started.
We got into the tent and went thru the five zipper ordeal to secure the tent. It has to be done, or it will be limp, blow around, and especially the bottom or water would come into the tent...
So, not ready to go to sleep we laid there listening to the rain and once our eyes dilated, we could watch the inner walls and the roof - this was our first time using this tent.
Fell asleep.
90 minutes later, something woke me up..just enough that I popped my head up just enough, opened my eyes just to see what was going on.
Simultaneously, my wife jumps up and yells "Oh Sheeet", scaring me to death actually.
The wind had picked up pretty good, and that is what woke me up - the feeling that something wasn't right..
The wind was doing a number on us. Trying to lift the tent up off the ground, even though we were staked in pretty good.
This tent is sorta top heavy and tall, but we've been in rain before, nothing new.
We laid there for a second...I know she is freaking out on the inside, me, stay calm until I have reason to freak out. If she sees me freak out, then it's all over.
My parents have a fifth-wheel camper not far from us that is our Plan B if it gets too rough - but it was already full and we'd have no choice but sleep on the hardwood kitchen floor.
A little while goes by, still awake monitoring the storm.
I had my cellular ipad with me this time, and I was trying to get signal to see how intense the storm was - but I could tell we were getting gusts of 20-30 MPH.
As i had the iPad out, blinding myself from the autobrightness setting that was not working for some reason, boom. Tent imploded.
The mechanisms that "automatically" set this tent up bend a certain way to spring it up in those initial 60 seconds.
What they don't tell you, is with enough force, those very mechanisms bend the opposite direction.
So I jump up, shout a few expletives, and push the ten back into shape.
lay back down, keeping my cool...thinking, ok, one more of those, and we are heading inside...that whole five zipper-rain flap porch thing was stuck in my head...I was trying to think if I was overlooking something, making exit more difficult that it really needed to be....
As I consider exit strategy, big wind - this time, half the roof came off...now rain is pouring in on us.
Oh crap oh crap oh crap...now I HAVE to do this five zipper ordeal, and fast, while getting my wife to shine the flashlight just right...
The wind was pretty rough, and that stupid porch rain flap was wrapping itself around me as I tried to get out...
I was able to grab the two corners of the roof and pull them back...for experienced campers, every roof I have owned has a hook system that secures far down the body of the tent...it ain't coming off...this one, it snaps on. Yeah, really poor design.
I get back inside, after fighting to gain entry to the tent in the rain and wind...we have had enough, pack our stuff, get out of here.
I tell her to just throw valuables in my pillow case, and lets split.
Our big heavy, reclining lawn chair were in the tent with us, so I figured come morning, we'll find the tent on its side and prolly the roof gone...but didn't really care. At this point, I was already rehearsing in my head what I was going to say to SAMs when I returned this darn thing...and the company who made it...and my attorney generals office if they refused refund...etc...etc...
we get inside, get some dry blankets down, stand there just mad at the world...and my wife tells me her purse is still in the tent.
Well son of a .... LOL
Sooooo I get to go BACK out, and go thru it all again.
Next morning, I go inspect....and I'd be darned, the tent is completely in tact as if nothing ever happened.
I spent the better part of this morning looking for the manufacturers website so they can get an ear full of this death trap tent they sell...but I am coming up empty, which is embarrassing considering I work in I.T. and can find anything I put my mind to.
My wife called SAMs and they will honor a refund, despite it being a used tent now...good PR for SAMs cuz I don't think they want me going in there mad...
Wow.
Generally, we have the dome-style tents that we thread with the graphite rods that "pop" the tent into shape.
Well, my Mrs was wanting one of those that "sets itself up" and is more house-like.
She opted for this:
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/camp-va...prod5250206.ip
We took it on its first trip this weekend.
Sort of misleading - sure it sets up in 60 seconds, but there is still some finesse to do once the main structure is up.
I liked the added height since I am 6' 2".
Friday went well, but as we got closer to bedtime, we were left wondering about the front door.
If you click that link, you'll see that it has a built in porch (rain flap). Yet, the front doors to the tent are two mesh, unzip and enter deals.
Mkay, we really don't want everyone peeking in...so what, before we go to bed for the night does the company expect us to undo the rope tethers, pull the metal prop bars, and let the porch (rain flap) down? Ya know, it is doable, but a lot of work.
Not to mention, if you let the porch down (rain flap) you h ave to have already unzipped the two front mesh doors. Yup.
There are three zippers there - a vertical center one to separate the two doors. Then, along the bottom of each door, is a zipper.
Once you are inside the tent with those three zippers undone, you have to reach out, grab the underside of the porch (rain flap), locate its zipper and run it down the height of the tent - ON EACH SIDE.
A total of five zippers, two rope tethers, two metal support rods just to close your tent at night.
Umm...anyone see a problem with this?
Saturday came and my wife and I were jockeying the idea of returning the tent. She seemed to remember SAMs having a no-return policy on used tents, which irked me. $150 for a problem tent.
Well, saturday yielded us some light rain. just a misting in the afternoon as the larger storms forecasted for our area were miles south of us.
After dinner Saturday night, we rationed firewood to have a good long night of fire, smores', company and fun...
Cell coverage was mediocre in this area and data was almost non existent, but I was able to pull up radar once in a while.
I just happened to pull my phone out of my pocket (habit) as we loaded the fire pit up for round #1.
Oh crap. without warning (sky was already getting dark) a storm was moving in, and a big one.
Judging size and speed of the animation, we were minutes away from getting hit.
So everyone packs up chairs and food, we go and go thru the whole "porch - rain - flap" disassembly thing. However, since we were outside of the tent for this procedure, we just unzipped the three zippers to the doors, dropped the rain flap and just let it hang so we could make a dash for the tent when the rain started.
The rain started.
We got into the tent and went thru the five zipper ordeal to secure the tent. It has to be done, or it will be limp, blow around, and especially the bottom or water would come into the tent...
So, not ready to go to sleep we laid there listening to the rain and once our eyes dilated, we could watch the inner walls and the roof - this was our first time using this tent.
Fell asleep.
90 minutes later, something woke me up..just enough that I popped my head up just enough, opened my eyes just to see what was going on.
Simultaneously, my wife jumps up and yells "Oh Sheeet", scaring me to death actually.
The wind had picked up pretty good, and that is what woke me up - the feeling that something wasn't right..
The wind was doing a number on us. Trying to lift the tent up off the ground, even though we were staked in pretty good.
This tent is sorta top heavy and tall, but we've been in rain before, nothing new.
We laid there for a second...I know she is freaking out on the inside, me, stay calm until I have reason to freak out. If she sees me freak out, then it's all over.
My parents have a fifth-wheel camper not far from us that is our Plan B if it gets too rough - but it was already full and we'd have no choice but sleep on the hardwood kitchen floor.
A little while goes by, still awake monitoring the storm.
I had my cellular ipad with me this time, and I was trying to get signal to see how intense the storm was - but I could tell we were getting gusts of 20-30 MPH.
As i had the iPad out, blinding myself from the autobrightness setting that was not working for some reason, boom. Tent imploded.
The mechanisms that "automatically" set this tent up bend a certain way to spring it up in those initial 60 seconds.
What they don't tell you, is with enough force, those very mechanisms bend the opposite direction.
So I jump up, shout a few expletives, and push the ten back into shape.
lay back down, keeping my cool...thinking, ok, one more of those, and we are heading inside...that whole five zipper-rain flap porch thing was stuck in my head...I was trying to think if I was overlooking something, making exit more difficult that it really needed to be....
As I consider exit strategy, big wind - this time, half the roof came off...now rain is pouring in on us.
Oh crap oh crap oh crap...now I HAVE to do this five zipper ordeal, and fast, while getting my wife to shine the flashlight just right...
The wind was pretty rough, and that stupid porch rain flap was wrapping itself around me as I tried to get out...
I was able to grab the two corners of the roof and pull them back...for experienced campers, every roof I have owned has a hook system that secures far down the body of the tent...it ain't coming off...this one, it snaps on. Yeah, really poor design.
I get back inside, after fighting to gain entry to the tent in the rain and wind...we have had enough, pack our stuff, get out of here.
I tell her to just throw valuables in my pillow case, and lets split.
Our big heavy, reclining lawn chair were in the tent with us, so I figured come morning, we'll find the tent on its side and prolly the roof gone...but didn't really care. At this point, I was already rehearsing in my head what I was going to say to SAMs when I returned this darn thing...and the company who made it...and my attorney generals office if they refused refund...etc...etc...
we get inside, get some dry blankets down, stand there just mad at the world...and my wife tells me her purse is still in the tent.
Well son of a .... LOL
Sooooo I get to go BACK out, and go thru it all again.
Next morning, I go inspect....and I'd be darned, the tent is completely in tact as if nothing ever happened.
I spent the better part of this morning looking for the manufacturers website so they can get an ear full of this death trap tent they sell...but I am coming up empty, which is embarrassing considering I work in I.T. and can find anything I put my mind to.
My wife called SAMs and they will honor a refund, despite it being a used tent now...good PR for SAMs cuz I don't think they want me going in there mad...
Wow.
I'd never have room for my La-Z-Boy.
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